As her trembling fingers work to steady the phone, her ample milk tone breast flash across the screen. A huge cloud of doubt covers her entire being whether or not she should send the picture to the horny bastard on the other side. She stares at her figure for a moment.

“See? You’re hotter than that Cherry from work.” She finds some sort of reason to send the picture. “I’m waaaaay WAY hotter than her.” Dana pauses. “I can do this. I can find a hot guy online too! Date my ass off into a dreamboat!!!” She encourages herself one last time before clicking the send button.

3 seconds later she receives a reply…

NoBaggage34: Nice tits ;P

“You’re turn” she replies.

Not more than a second later she receives another reply.

It was a picture of an erection.

“Another picture of a dick.” She said in a very unamused tone. “I’ve seen more dicks than an average prostitute with this stupid app.” Dana frowns and gently tosses her phone on her bed. “Maybe just one last stranger before sleeping.” She yawns and picks up her navy blue tank top and wears it. Later she traces her steps back to her bed and lands her head on the soft pillow that can be the only thing she has close to a partner at the moment.

It has only been a day and a half when she downloaded the stranger app she got from her lousy co-worker, Cherry. It was called Secret Letters and was popular around the area for a better alternative and a rather dangerous take on dating. It tries to be like pen-pals where you can choose to meet the stranger without seeing the person’s picture first, or agree on sending pictures but never seeing each other at all. It was a stupid app with obviously stupid rules because people send pics and hook-up anyways. But people in Evolon City is crazy about it for some odd reasons.

Despite having better judgment than falling for a stranger app like SL, Dana already hates her life that is consumed by her work. She rarely sees her friends and relatives that she is slowly turning into a really boring and depressing person. She needs a life. The thought screams at her head daily the second she clocks in and out of work.

What happened to me? All she ever wanted was to help her family and be the best at what she does. Eventually, when she’s successful enough she can find her true love and be married have kids and focus on her family while working on the side. I was naive.

Dana clicks next and was about to do the same routine again. SL became some sort of addiction for Dana where she can try to be someone else rather than the sorry excuse of a medical servant that she currently was. She wasn’t really expecting anything from the app especially after her first few minutes and all she ever met were either horny teenagers or horny dick sending idiots. A part of her does wonder if she would meet anyone who doesn’t want to put their dicks on her virgin pussy. But so far it was like a long stretch and an impossible dream to attain in SL.

LostHope: Would you want to have coffee with me?

Bluish grey eyes looks at the phone's screen. “This is a first.” She tests the stranger’s motives. “Are you sure you don’t want a picture of my breasts?” Dana clicks send.

LostHope: I just really want coffee for now. If you’re free tomorrow in the afternoon we can grab a cup, my treat.

“Are you for real?”

LostHope: Yup. If you don’t like me you can ditch me. Doesn’t matter.

“I have a busy schedule. I doubt you can adjust.”

LostHope: Nope, I’m pretty sure I can. I don’t have work tomorrow.

“It’s Wednesday. You cannot NOT have work tomorrow.”

LostHope: Yes I can. Not every job has the same offs you know.

“Maybe you’re a scammer. Or you’ll kidnap me.”

LostHope: LMAO this site hasn’t been kind to you at all huh?

“And what if I’m a dude?”

LostHope: Doesn’t matter, I’m only looking for someone to have coffee with not someone I can fuck because I'm bored.

“I don’t trust you.”

LostHope: You don’t have to. But I’ll be there. What time will you be free?

“Around 1PM.” Shit. I accidentally answered. Shit shit. Dana dreads telling the stranger the time she should be free.

LostHope: I’ll be in Coffee Cult, 1PM. Find the most attractive guy in the cafe wearing a pale colored hoodie.

It was her usual routine when she clocks in and she would immediately check if all things are in order. Checking the endorsement, making sure all of the samples are in order, no spills, etc. After absolute perfection that is needed in her job, she then runs different tests for each specimens that was given to her. When nothing goes wrong, she moves to the next batch and does the same thing. Over and over and over… and over again.

Dana ignored the last stranger she chatted on the app and decided not to meet the guy who would set up a date when they didn’t even have enough time to get to know each other. 

Nope, not me!

1PM my ass! I am not going to meet that guy even if he says he’s attractive. 

Even… even if he is the only ‘almost’ decent guy I met so far in that godforsaken app.

Even if… Coffee Cult is not so far from this hospital.

She stops for awhile at the thought.

I don’t have to meet the guy, I do want to try that cafe for a while now. Like a… change of pace!

Another pause.

If I do see him there, he doesn’t know what I look like anyways. Just gonna check him out real quick is all…

Dana picks up her phone and sees the time: 1:10PM.

Something happened the moment she saw the time. She’s not sure herself but it made her take off like there was nothing holding her back. Not her job, her family, her boring life. Nothing. Her long legs stride across the streets of Evolon as she runs against the sea of people. Dana is not even sure if the guy was her type. She’s not even sure if this wasn’t a human trafficking for specific women who had sold their lives to their specific jobs and wanted to get out of it. Dana is not sure why she was running, she could walk, but she was running. Running for her life.

Running.

Like this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

The opportunity for her to change her life.

Running. Running. Running.

Why was she running?

Dana finally slows down and eventually comes to a stop. She catches her breath, sweat dropping from her forehead. “Why am I running?” For no good reason she drops to her knees like she was shooting a drama. People passing by would look at the woman and would give her weird looks. Dana on the other hand didn’t care. She wasn’t sure of her actions anymore. She wasn’t sure why she was running awhile ago. And she’s not so sure why she is on her knees now. 

She stays there on the ground for a while.

Thinking.

Staring at the sweat drops on the pavement floor beneath her.

Feeling an itch located on her knees that is probably a bad bruise for her sudden drop minutes ago.

“This is pathetic.” With those words, Dana stands up and turns around as if nothing strange just happened to her. Like she had pressed a reset button, and her brain functions are now back to default.

Her feet slowly leads her back to the hospital. “My break will end soon… I should… go back.” Slowly but surely she heads back to her job. The scene she made washed away by the buzzing of the city who have seen crazier things anyway.

Evolon City. The city that never sleeps. It never forgives. It doesn’t care. A city where the weak has no future and the strong takes it all. It was just like any other city in the world.

Unforgiving. Ruthless. And it doesn’t care about you as much as you care about it.

“Miss,”

Dana doesn’t turnaround and continues her heavy slow steps back to work.

“Miss!” A hand grabs her arm firmly that made Dana jerk it off forcefully.

“WHAT?” She glares at the man who stares right back at her bluish grey eyes with a rather gentle stare.

“You dropped your phone.” The man said handing her over the phone.

Dana takes her phone and puts it in her pocket. “Thanks.” She said politely. Her feet quickly turns to the direction that leads back to the hospital once more without giving the man a proper look. She didn’t wait for the man to reply or say anything else. All she wanted was to forget the reason why she ran towards that cafe. Why she had thought of seeing the man. Why she even downloaded that app. Why she thought any of those little things could change her fate that is undoubtedly chained to her responsibilities as the eldest daughter of 5 younger siblings and 1 single mother.

I just don’t have room to make mistakes.

The thought lingers in her head while she passes by a set of strawberry blond hair in the arms of a dignified looking man in a million-dollar suit. Dana looks back at the woman and thought…

It must be nice to be her.

Dominique passes by a newspaper stand and decided to buy some gum. She gestures her current Sugar Daddy to go inside the fancy restaurant without her while she takes out a few coins from her tattered scarlet red jeans. Dom points at the gum and the vendor politely hands it over to her while taking the coins in exchange of two gums instead of one.

“Oh, only one please.” Dom said to the vendor.

“No, no,” The vendor smiles, “On the house for the pretty lady.” He winks at her playfully which only makes Dom giggle and play along with the old man behind the counter.

“Then I shall accept your kindness, good sir,” She replies and gives the old man a teasing wink. Then she turns around and enters the restaurant with two gums and a rather sullen look. Of course, it was only for a brief moment before she returns to her usual cheery smile when she waves at her date and sits next to him. Dom hands over the second gum.

“Gum?”

“No thanks.” He declines.

“No? Okay. More for me.” She inserts the second pack of gum between her cleavage, revealing a hint of pink lace before looking back at the man with a particular teasing look. “Maybe you’ll want gum later?” She winks playfully.

The man looks back at Dom with a rather serious look. “Dom.” He started with a low voice. “There’s something we have to talk about.”

Dominique has been a Sugar Baby for 7 years to know that something serious is going to come next with her date’s choice of words. She watches his eyes, trying to read what it might be. Later, she focuses on his lips as it slowly moves to talk.

“My wife knows.”

The noctuous heart beats loudest, the old and steady and content

Our painful clocks unwinding, we came we saw we left.

-We Will Run, Jens Kuross